The 10 mega-gifts that just helped Rutgers do something it has never done

NEW BRUNSWICK — Nearly 50,000 alumni, students and friends donated money to Rutgers University over the last year, giving the state university the most lucrative fundraising year in its history, school officials said.

“Raising more than $200 million in one year sets a new standard that is critical to the institution and to all the people and causes the university reaches worldwide through education, research, and service,” said Nevin Kessler, president of the Rutgers University Foundation, the school's fundraising arm.

Rutgers groundbreaking ceremony of new sports medicine facility

Rutgers President Robert Barchi (center) joins other dignitaries at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center at Rutgers in 2016. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Where the money came from

A record 49,736 donors pledged money to Rutgers during the fundraising year, which began July 1, 2016, and concluded June 30 of this year.

The fundraising surge comes as Rutgers has been stepping up its efforts to raise money. Though the university recently celebrated its 250th anniversary and is among the oldest colleges in the nation, its $1.2 billion endowment is considered small for a school of its size and age.

Part of the record-breaking fundraising year was a surge in the number of gifts over $1 million. In total, Rutgers collected $124 million in gifts in excess of $1 million.

The Rutgers Foundation did not release a complete list of this year's biggest donations. But, here are 10 of the year's most-notable gifts, according to Rutgers officials:

Rutgers groundbreaking ceremony of new sports medicine facility

An artist's rendering of the new Rutgers basketball locker room at the RWJ Barnabas Health Athletic Performance Center in Piscataway. (Rutgers University image)

One of Rutgers' largest donors pledged several large health-related gifts, including: $5 million for the Child Health Institute of New Jersey at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; $4.18 million for the New Jersey Health Care Policy Center’s State Health Initiatives program; and

$998,900 to help researchers measure community activities and assist organizations in building a "culture of health" in New Jersey.